


Support

by giantpanda



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27422224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giantpanda/pseuds/giantpanda
Summary: After a rough therapy session, Claire goes to Neil and they talk.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	Support

**Author's Note:**

> Even though I didn't watch the show Monday, I read about what the writers decided to do. This story came about thinking about all that Claire has gone though and wanting her to have Neil there to support her as she dealt with her mother and her childhood.

Neil was stretched out across the couch trying to focus on his book. It had been a rough week at work, and he had been looking forward to a night off. He had hoped that Claire would be beside him, but she had an appointment with her therapist. They had officially been together for a few months, and the transition from friends to something more had been easy. However, he noticed lately that she was being distant. He was struggling with how best to support her. He realized that it had been almost a year since her mother had died, and he knew that brought up a lot of unpleasant memories for her. When they had first decided to be together, she had told him that she wasn’t good at relationships and worried that she would hurt him. What hurt him now was that she wasn’t leaning on him when she was in pain.

He closed the book and sat up. He reached for his phone hoping that she had reached out. The last message he had from her was from when she had gotten to her therapist’s office. He checked the time and wondered if he should message her. While she didn’t usually come over after a session, she also either called or texted him after to let him know she was okay. He dropped his phone next to him on the sofa and leaned back closing his eyes.

He was in love with her. He hadn’t told her yet and maybe that was his mistake. They had decided to take things slow, even though he knew without any doubts that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He thought she felt the same way, but lately he was beginning to wonder. As doubts began to swirl around, he started to drift off to sleep. His phone buzzed startling him awake.

Reaching for his phone, he saw her message asking if it was too late to come over. He answered immediately that it was never too late. He was concerned about what made her reach out after her session. He stood up and paced around as he waited for her to arrive. Finally, he heard her car and went to meet her at the door. She came in, hung up her coat and slipped off her shoes. He felt his heart break as he took in her tear stained face. He wished she would let him in and that he could take away every bit of pain that she was going through.

“Would you like some tea?” he asked.

She nodded and he turned to go to the kitchen. She stopped him by grabbing his hand. He turned to her, waiting to see what she needed. She took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. He wrapped her in his embrace as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. He lost track of time as they stood there together. He would hold her as long as she needed.

She moved to step away from him, but he kept her close. “I’m sorry to bother you so late,” she whispered.

He reached out and caressed her face. He drew her eyes to his. “You know you’re never a bother.”

He wondered what he had said wrong as her lip quivered and she started to cry. He felt horrible as he pulled her back into his arms. Her arms tightened around him as she sobbed. He ran his hand up and down her back trying to comfort her. He was reminded of when he had found her in the stairwell of the hospital. He felt the familiar guilt that he had missed that something was wrong.

As her sobs subsided, he wrapped his arm around her and lead her towards the sofa. She curled up against the side and he draped the blanket around her, knowing how she always got cold. He brushed a kiss against her forehead, earning him a small smile. He then went to the kitchen to make her some tea. As he waited for the water to boil, he leaned against the counter thinking about what could be wrong.

Claire had always been open with him about her past, telling him about her childhood and other relationships. He couldn’t imagine what had caused this reaction and figured that her therapy session had triggered something. He hoped that she would let him in and tell him what was going on. He finished making the tea and walked back into the living room. He stood for a second and watched her. She turned to face him, and he was relieved when she smiled at him. He handed her the tea and then sat next to her. He left some space between them, although all he wanted was to take her into his arms.

“Thank you,” she said softly, holding the cup between her hands as she blew on it. 

“You’re welcome,” he said. He reached out and placed his hand against her knee. “What happened?”

She sighed. “I’m a mess.”

“No, you’re not.”

She made a face, “You’re sweet but we both know I am.” She sat up and placed her cup on the coffee table. “Today’s session was rough,” she admitted. “And she pointed out that I haven’t been fair to you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She drew her knees up to her chest and sighed. “I’ve been thinking more about my mom lately.”

“It’s almost been a year,” he said.

Nodding, she continued, “I’ve been trying to deal with all these memories of mom and thinking about things she used to say to me and thinking about us.” She wiped at her eyes. “She told me that I wasn’t being fair to either of us by not telling you what I’ve been thinking, and I really want to try.”

He reached out for her hand. “I don’t want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

“She was right. I want to talk to you.” She squeezed his hand. “I love you Neil, and I want this to work. I can’t imagine my life without you, and it terrifies me.” He opened his mouth to tell her that he loved her too, but she held up her hand stopping him. “Please let me say this while I can.”

He nodded.

“The way I feel for you and the way you make me feel is different than I’ve ever felt before. I’m so afraid that I’m going to hurt you, and she made me realize that by not talking to you, I have hurt you, even if you won’t tell me that. I’m afraid that I don’t love you the way you deserve to be loved, that I don’t know how.”

The words to contradict her were on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to tell her that she had no reason to be afraid.

“You saved me when I felt like I was drowning after she died. I’ve been having these dreams about mom the past couple of weeks. A mixture of memories and nightmares, and I wake up hearing her voice telling me that no one would ever love me like she did, that I’m nothing but an unwanted burden.”

“Claire,” he interrupted, his heart breaking, realizing why she had started crying at his words earlier.

She ignored him and continued. “I worry that you’re going to realize that I’m not worth it.”

It killed him to know that she had been feeling this way and he had no clue. He had thought that things between them were fine overall, now he regretted that he had given her the space he thought she wanted. He waited to see if she was done talking.

“I know that was a lot,” she said breaking the silence.

“Is it okay for me to talk now?” he asked.

She nodded. He slid over on the sofa so that he was closer to her. He reached out and wiped away the remaining tears on her face, and then encouraged her to look at him.

“I love you Claire, and I have for a long time,” he kept his eyes on hers. “You are worth everything.”

“I love you too.”

He smiled at her, “I’m glad you told me what’s been going on, and I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“This isn’t just on you, I should’ve seen that something was bothering you.”

“How are you supposed to do that if I don’t tell you?”

“Because I know you,” he reached for both her hands. “I knew it was getting close to the anniversary of her death, and I should’ve asked you if you were okay.”

She intertwined their fingers together. “And I could’ve just told you.”

He tugged on her hands bringing her into his arms. “How about we admit that we both could’ve done better?”

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. “As long as you agree that it was mostly my fault. You’re not a mind reader.”

He moved to lay down on the sofa bringing her with him. She snuggled against him. He ran his hand up and down her back. He could feel her exhaustion from the day.

“I’m not, and I hope you know that you can always talk to me.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to burden you with all of this.”

He pulled her closer. “We’re in this together, Claire. If you’re hurting, I want to know, and we’ll work through it together.”

“I want that. Thank you for being patient with me.”

“I plan on spending the rest of my life with you. I will do whatever you need.”

“I want that too. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He continued to caress her back as she slowly fell asleep against him. He knew that they had taken a big step together with her sharing some of her fears with him. He knew they would need to continue and fight for their relationship. As he told her, she was worth everything to him. He hoped that he would be able to help her realize just how amazing and special she was. He knew he would never give her reason to doubt his love for her. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought of how lucky he was to have her in his life and to be there for her. He knew that they would be happy together forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading. This has been a crazy week with this election so I hope that everyone is taking care of themselves!!


End file.
